Wreck an' Rule
by Omicron the IceQueen
Summary: Its not an easy thing surviving or being hunted by mostly unknown enemies. Those first sudden attacks left the mechs scattered along with the remains of Nest, most humans killed it seems, their Prime missing, someone steps up- even if he's staggering and leaking internally. No Wrecker can stand running for long before turning to fight back. Unlike Autobots, Wreckers fight dirty...


**Queen's Notes:** I've been working on this since a few days after seeing the TF4 movie, it took a while because I've been sick, and still am (bronchitis is horrible, and what fun I'm going to have it for a long bunch of weeks it was/is so bad x.x), but I just couldn't shake the thought of what happened to the Wreckers. Beyond a glimpse-clip of Leadfoot in the movie, though it implies they died...

I just can't see that.

So, here's me, as someone who loves the movie Wreckers (and Roadbuster!) so much that I came up with this. I'm trying really hard to keep this as alined as possible with the movies, and not slide into my Level Workers saga style of things. However for the story... there are a few things I just have to break, as in some characters that where killed off in the first three movies I deeply believe shouldn't have been, or that the 'death' made no sense, then you'll see or hear about them.

I really love the size differences between humans and mechs, and how they can interact so well. So I'm going to be playing with that. There's a few 'odd' moments, such as a scene I did for my friend Kitra XD

Thank you to those who read, reread and reread and reread while I wrote this [Storm, Blue, Kitra, Ultra Rodimus].

**Wreck an' Rule**

Part One

Betrayal

The sun had almost completely dipped under the horizon, painting not only the land in purples and reds but the rare thunderhead above as well, with a few streaks of vivid orange reflecting on the curves of the cloud formation. The storm looked like it had already let it's contained water free to the northeast, and it would take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours before it reached the road. Or if it didn't then the flash floods might make it this far instead in the nearby wash.

When the water finally fell, it can in warm sheets that washed over crusted sand, rocks, loose quartz crystals, the pavement and finally descend on the old gas station. The overhang for the nearly dry pumps was mostly intact, the building standing, though the garage was hollow looking, the former shop was something out of a horror or zombie movie. The old fridge inside still had a few bottles of beer and cola, stale chips from thirty years ago, even a pack of smokes on the counter that used to serve coffee, shakes, eggs and bacon like things to truckers and travelers. The kitchen in back had pots hanging from one wall, a pan on the stove had started to grow a micro forest of molds, only to dry up in the desert air from one of the open back doors.

As the night closed in on the land and those few people in it now, steam rose up off both of the road, as well as the sun-heated metal from a few beater trucks and cars sat to one side in a bone yard. The air was filled with the thick, rich scent of hot, wet pavement. There was also slightly sharper smell of heated and wet rock, but it wasn't nearly as strong near or on the old highway.

It was an acrid smell that was somehow wonderful, a scent that Robert Epps knew most of his life, and also knew that the mechs he worked with over the last few years had fallen in love with it. Something that they found on this world, and with the mechs he knew more, the Wreckers loved it more.

But right now, no one was enjoying it, or noticing the rain more than it being like a kick to the ribs when one was down on the ground already.

The six standing men were shouting, trying to coordinate around the mech that would normally tower over them. It would be an understatement to say the humans were over-armed, both with manmade weapons and the eerie silver-black-shine of alien metal that the men had in place of body armor. As well as scaled down versions of what the some Cybertronians had for hand held weapons. A couple of these men, unknown to their own government, even most of the- now seemingly former- Nest agency were techno-organic with faster reflexes and stronger bodies.

The green and silver mech gave what could only be called a roar, struggling to rise as one of the humans half climbed up on his right side, trying to get to the open wound above him. The man was reaching in, through the energon as it bled out, to get to the currently exposed inner workings. Shouts between the men wove between the alien words and yowls of pain, the Wrecker trying to push the two humans off him, dropping to his knees as he was off balance as one of his armor panels dropped. It hit the old road, adding another crack to the ground.

"Come on! Hold him down- pull the muscle cables to get him down!" The dark skinned man, Epps, yelled, jumping to put his weight onto one of mech's wrists, reaching into the joint to tug on the black muscle like cable inside. He could feel a charge but the clawed hand spazzimed, letting go of Jorge before the mech could pull the other man off him, "'Buster! Stop!"

"Mech- come on we're trying to close this shit!" Another man yelled as the Nest agent fumbled with a welder in one hand, and a strip of metal to try and seal the hole from a 'small' sabolt-round, where energon was oozing out. The answering keen from the wrecker tore at the ears and chests of the humans, having never heard Roadbuster in this much pain, so much that the mech wasn't even cursing as he tore at his armor, the green and white kibble to pull off himself.

"What are you doing- Roadbuster!" Epps yelled as he lifted off the ground, jarring as the mech dropping back to his knees, he could feel his armor and cloths getting soaked, and not just from the rain as the mech was above him. The sharp-warble-buzz of Cybertronian words reverbed from the mech as he pulled his hands free, claws extended and digging at his chest. "_Stop!_" he yelled, unable to understand the wrecker dialect being used- _why_ did the transformers have to have as many dialects and languages as humans?!

The mech gave a sound between a fax machine being strangled, and a groan like tone, trying to shrug off the humans as he tore at his chest plates. It was a deliberate action, and the men couldn't fathom the reason behind it. Unable to understand what the mech was trying to do, it looked more like self mutation from the mech as more green and white chucks and panels were dropped. He needed out of them, even pulling off one of his nine visible guns on his sides

Green optics- no longer hiding under the now cracked (though normally color changing) visor, looked up at last, spotting the garage door that two of the six soldiers were struggling to open a seventh form was laying near limp on the ground nearby. He warbled, calling to them as Roadbuster felt his systems still flooding internally. He needed _out_ of his armor, dropping down to be on his hands and knees the mech gargle and made a near full body motion as certain systems spazzemed. Fluid was starting to drain from his middle and lower chest now, different in the light of the human flashlights from the rain water. Some part of him noted with a string of pride the humans under, and on him weren't panicking as some back at the base would have by getting the stuff, along with energon and other fluids on them like Epps and another were. The man glanced down to see what the stuff was, the erratic lights showing the fluid being a bronze color, with streaks if silver flecked in.

"What the hell is this Epps?" One man asked, Jorge, whipping the sticky stuff off of the rapidly becoming bare gray-black frame of the mech.

"Something that shouldn't be leaking out." The techno-organic said, turning and then pointed, "Come on, everyone! We need to get 'Buster under cover- can you do that mech?" He moved to grab the bare left arm, a split second before the integrated saw-of-unholy-hell, started to disconnect.

Roadbuster hissed, reaching with his right arm to finish pulling the weapon off, and then the other saw blade and rig off that arm. Much to the worry and then panic if the Nest agents at his actions. With a growl and shiver, half lunging forward at the encouragement to get to the gas station, the mech had disconnected one of the two launchers that rested over his shoulders, it tilted and hung at an odd angle before it dropped. More than one of the six men cursed after the new heavy hunk of metal cracked and added new scars to the road.

Roadbuster was never seen without his launchers, locking them down if needed, but even when first walking down the Xanthium's ramp he had been decked out like a living armory as Topspin had been. Something was very wrong, as the mech crawled forward, shedding parts- or nearly ripping them off, even the heat exhaust tubes on either side of his 'rib cage' were taken off. The mech had to stop, gripping one of the old gas pumps hard enough that his claws warped it before piercing the metal, it bent farther as he shifted weight onto it, his right hand scrabbling at his chest again. Then with sounds no-one had heard from an Autobot or Wrecker before, Roadbuster started doing what they could only describe as heaving as he started purging out his primary, and ruptured tank.

Epps scrambled out of the way as the Wrecker lifted on his knees only to drop his shoulders, trying to get that same bronze colored flied out as fast as possible, using gravity to help. He caught the glitters mixed in with the thicker fluids, making a note of it for later as he gritted his teeth and moved around to the mech's head, "Jack, other side, grab the helm," he half yelled, half ordered.

"Gross Epps that's-"

"Robotic puke, yeah, yeah. Suck it up and grab the jaw line!" The dark skinned man said, shoving his gun farther up on his back, getting a better grip on the rain-water slicked, green-black metal. "Remember what Ratchet said, we got to force his intakes to output." Epps said as he felt around with his right hand in the junction where jaw met helm and the neck cables.

On the other side of Roadbuster's helm, Jack grunted as he felt one of the large hands start to wrap around his right leg and up the side. "Don't you dare big mech, we're trying to _help_ so-" He grunted again as he used the metal digits to brace against, then found the same spot under the flex metal as was on Epps' side. It was a like a pressure point on a human, only this with pushed up, and then back, had a reaction of making the muscle cables half freeze, and all the inner 'valves' all switching to output. As long as Jack and Epps could hold on, the mech could finish the purge.

"You so owe us for this shit…" Epps gritted his teeth as the Wrecker couldn't help moving in the next set of heaving motions, forcing the humans in an odd shuffle-dance to stay in place. "Mongo!"

"Almost got it!" The man on Roadbuster's own right side yelled back, it wasn't easy staying balanced like normal, as the mech no longer had as many hand and foot holds. With Jorge's help just below though, the oozing flow of energon was stopped. "Ratchet's so not going to like this..."

"He wouldn't like losing 'Buster either, he can bitch about the duck tape later." Jorge said, taping over the newly welded section as extra protection from seeping, looping the roll a few times before almost doing a pull up to reach a smaller leak and tape that as well.

A low sound came from above and around them, half that whale like groan and half vibration. It warped and altered into rising and falling pattern- and more than Mongo felt the first hopeful thread as they realized that it was an attempt at a chuckle as the mech coughed the last of the mixture that was in his tank up. It would coat a good section of the pavement under the overhang, and maybe at some other time they would be concerned for the little bit of echo system around. However, they weren't all that much right now, not with their metallic ally and friend seeming like he was dying.

At the moment, Roadbuster was keening again, if a bit of a lower level as he was forced to look up at where the last two, three, men were.

"Can you make it?" Epps asked as he glanced up, seeing where Marc and Eddie were carrying the seventh, and still limp human between them. Ducking under the mostly open garage door, as they shuffled to the inside door that linked to the gas station itself. No one know about the open back door yet

"...fraging..." The mech muttered, tilted his head one way and the other, freeing his head from the two humans. Epps and Jack let go of the trigger points and moved aside, still trying to grab and try supporting the mech in some small way as he slowly pushed himself up to hands and knees. Mongo scrambled, feeling Jorge boosted him up so the tattooed man could get a good hold and pull himself the rest of the way, to cling to Roadbuster's back.

"Jorge, toss that stuff up!" Mongo yelled, bracing his feet and looping one arm on an external support and leaning over to extend his right arm down to catch the silver roll that was thrown up. He half rolled himself into the middle of Roadbuster's back, flopping down as he pulled a strip of the duck tape out, biting it free. He had just enough time hang onto the roll with his teeth as he started wrapping another, much smaller spot that had energon and a clear-green mix weeping out the torn looking line near the spine-like support. He wrapped another strip over that before looking up and started moving back and to one side, climbing down to the hip joint and then thigh of the mech.

The Wrecker had to pause, shifting to reach out and lift the sliding garage door up the rest of the way. He was the only one not to flinch at the screech of metal and un-greased workings, instinctually unbothered as the humans were. Green optics scanned around, able to see better in the dark then the men, even with the flash lights sweeping around the abandoned place. Noting tools that, had they not been metal, might have started rotting away a decade ago. There was an eerie feeling of everything having been just... dropped and left behind, strong enough that the mech felt it as he paused with head and shoulders just starting to enter the garage.

"Its okay, come on big mech," Jack coaxed, one hand on the mech's black-grey forearm.

Roadbuster gave a longsuffering vent as he shifted, half dropping onto his elbows, sliding in more as the humans moved things around to open the space up more. Jorge was the last to enter, scanning around as he checked the sky more than the landscape, very aware of the metallic feet on either side of him. He turned in time to see the Wrecker's back scraping the garage door, grunt and lower himself more.

Then it made sense.

Roadbuster wasn't transforming back into car form, and from that mad and admittedly rocky ride out here, he likely couldn't. With all the exo-armor and alternate mode kibble, the mech wouldn't have been able to fit into the only cover. Jorge glanced back at the pumping stashing of the building, noting that semi trail of alien metal and 'car' parts. He turned and scanned for something useful in the debris to cover the bigger chucks like the launchers and saw-rigs.

The mech grunted as he did a controlled collapse, rolling onto his left side. Green optics flicking to watch as the big man, Eddie started shouldering the door connecting the work garage to the shop itself. The other dark skinned man slammed his weight against the door again before looking up at a mechanical growl.

"Shit!" Eddie almost tossed himself to the side, instead of at the door as the clawed hand descended and drove into the door, ripping it off the hinges and moving to the other side. "...That's one way to do it." The second techno-organic said looking up from the reflex to cove the limp man on the ground that Marc was supporting now.

"Worked..." the mech rasped as he shook that hand a few times, and then resorted to flexing his digits to get rid of the thick wood and glass. He looked back as Eddie moved to help lift the wounded man up again, reaching back over. The large hand lowering, curling to get the rounded edges of his claws to brush against the semi conscious man, "Tanner?"

"Hey boss mech..." the man wheezed as he wrapped an arm around a few of the metal digits. "Don't die..."

Roadbuster rumbled back, "That's an order to you Tanner." The mech gave a growl to emphasize, he saw too many of the humans fall, both the Autobot allied and potential Wrecker-humans. If these seven were the last, then by Primus he didn't want to lose any more _Crew_.

Tanner stayed as limp as he could to make it easier to be carried, and watch the green glowing optics as long as he could before Marc lifted him up higher. Eddie let go to push two tables aside, tossing the chairs aside for now, then helped lift the injured man up to start getting body armor and fabric off him to see the full extent of the damaged now that they weren't cramped in a impala or hanging onto the outside like a barnacle without the glue.

The mech was heard on the other side of the wall as he warbled, the sound like hybrid mix of low clicks, a purring machine and a whale song. It was completely new to the humans, and in the garage the mech getting his pedes pushed to try and get him in enough to close the old door.

Roadbuster only shifted, pushing himself partly up and hissed next, one hand reaching out to tug on Epps pack for attention, "Get something... seal my tanks..." he ordered but it almost sounded more like a plea.

"How?" Epps shrugged off his pack, stripping the armor plates as well. Those where light weight, but the alloy that it was made up of _was_ Cybertornian... Not nearly as effective because it just wasn't as thick or dense as what the mech's carried on their persons for obvious reasons with the size scale differences. He thrust out his arms to catch what was dropping out of the air beneath the palm in front of him. The air had shimmered in that way of the mechs using sub-space, and Epps managed to catch most of the things that were just dropped out. He looked down at the part, or rather tool in his hand. It was one of the things Ratchet had made, for the human 'mecha medics' to use back in Nests' 'glory days,' and what Mongo had been using.

There was just a moment of pain, as the hybrid man remembered a few months ago. He had been watching Roadbuster leaning over from the spot he was sitting, extending a claw to tap a few of the human sized welders to subspace and claim them, his visor never leaving the screen but likely watching the distracted Ratchet who had been watching the race as well for a few minutes.

"Patch, seal it with any metal." Roadbuster was adjusting himself, bringing Epps back, seeming to take in a deep breath with his chest and then front expanding. Protoform armor plates slid aside with mechanical whispers, "That'll work just make sure its all sealed." He had seen the man take the plates off, they were made out of smaller, well, plates that were layered. "I'll talk yea through it... it'll take two of yea."

"Mongo, Jorge, strip the armor off, pull it apart if you can," Epps called, raising his voice to those inside, "Eddie! Toss you're armor to the door!"

"We need some help in here too!" The bigger man yelled back.

"And there's a trail of green metal and guns," Jorge pointed out as he started disarming to get to the layer of his own armor under it all, Glancing over as Jack started to the inside. "We need to take care of that slag."

"Later," Epps said as he tossed a fresh welder to Mongo along with one of the mech-fabic gloves, the two moving in on the mech as he flared his armor and did a partial transformation that just looked painful with parts being held up and stopped mid motion.

Later, but hopefully not too much later, Epps thought, the stop was blocking out most ways of watching- at least he hopped it did. Yet Jorge had a point, if they could get the assorted bits and parts out from plane view the better, though just one of those shoulder-launchers was going to take most all them to move.

Right now the two men focused, having pulled their armor apart as instructed, bring handfuls each with as they had to pretty much take turns climbing deeper into Roadbuster's frame. The mech clearly didn't like the sensations any more, if not more than the two men liked having to do it. Yet it must be done. So with stressed static crackles in his voice, Roadbuster described what was to be seen- threatened to eat anyone that left things rattling in his frame- what the two humans could and could not touch. He wasn't a medic, but the leader of the Wreckers did know more than enough to help other Cybertronians, as well as knowing his own frame. The claws of his left hand dug into garage floor, the only outward sign of pain as he suffered from the uncomfortably intimate and invasive feeling of the humans working on him.

He needed his tank sealed, or enough that it would hold energon for a while, as the remaining nanites were re-build inside the tank. Then he could shut down into a safe semi-recharge state as internal repairs could finally start to work, and let the humans finish patching leaks. As well as make a list of the weakened spots from those fragging sabolt rounds their shared attackers used on him.

By the time that the riddled part in question looked a bit more like an energon tank again, and the damage around it was repaired as much as possible for what the two men knew (and maybe a few things that seemed logical, but still a guess) Roadbuster almost yanked the humans out of his frame. Hissing in a higher octave than normal, the Wrecker struggled to fold himself back into place in robot mode. Even still, Epps had to set the cup he had down and with the help of Mongo and Jorge, they pushed a few armor plates into place for the mech.

Roadbuster vented in a broken rhythm, trying to cool stressed systems and then slow pushed himself up, crunching a few things but not caring as he wedged himself into the garage at an angle, drawing his feet up with another cough to clear his intakes of something lodge in there from the purge, he had be able to ignore it until now.

The humans pulled the door down, almost closed with enough room for them side in and out if need be despite the wet ground, and a few trickles of water poking in. Mostly pooling in the groves in the cement that the large pedes had made. Epps looked up to the now notable dimmer green glow, for a minute only the sounds if the rain, the mech's wheezing coughs and mumble words in the diner/store section filled the air.

Then a clawed hand lifted off the 'stomach' and chest armor that wasn't quite sitting like it had a ten minutes ago, and pointed at the door. "Get those ta Tanker," Toadbuster had to pause to try and dislodge the irrigation, working his jaw to help, "'Fer my nanites die."

He aimed a finger down at the cup, watching as the hybrid scooped it up and hurried with what just might be the injured man's last chance. Before closing the largest whole, the mech had told the two to get some of the silvery fluid out of his tank if there was some left. The primary and secondary energon tanks were where most of a mechs nanites for internal repairs were produced. Granted these nanites weren't refined like those given to the few Nest members deemed 'worth it' according to Ironhide, but with no doctor or medic, the silver nanites were the best they had.

Epps wasn't all too pleased, but at the same time relieved at the chance. If it worked even partly, then the silver 'fluid' would start in on closing wounds and working to repair the internal damage. He came up to the tables, the Wrecker's instructions replaying in the back of his mind as he joined the cluster around the improvised medical table.

"Tanner?" He held the cup level, making sure not to spill as the silver crept over his fingers. He waited until the semi glazed eyes were meeting his, "This is gonna be a dirtier way of doing things, you know how Eddie, Lenox and I got injections? Started to become techno-organic-bad-asses?" He got a nod, "this is like but not. I'm going to put this in the wounds, and your gonna have to down the rest like a shot. Nanites have to help you inside and out. Okay?" He wouldn't do it if Tanned refused, if it worked, it meant a much longer life span and a whole shit ton of other stuff.

Tanned shifted, hissed in pain before one hand let go of Eddie and reached weakly for the cup, not making it but he coughed himself before a cracking voice rose, "hit me bar...tender..."

"Okay, Jack, hold his legs, we're in the level of new alien weird shit again," Epps gripped the hand tightly for a moment, then slowly prying the improvised bandages up and off, grimacing at the instinctual ugly sight. But he hadn't survived human and Cybertronian wars and battles by being squeamish. Once the patch of duck-tape was off, and another being made to seal everything again, he poorer as much of the nanites into the bullet holes and the tear into fat and muscle as he could, rushing to reseal the area.

To Tanner's credit, he restrained himself well, jerking reflexively and clenching his teeth against screaming, he was holding back the instinct to get away from the burning sensations. Held or not it was impressive, more so when Epps helped prop Tanner up and almost force feed the active nanites to him.

No one blamed the man for cursing himself unconscious after that.

Eddie shook his head, "Damn that was...rough." the big man shook his head, about to scratch his head but stopped, staring at the blood for a moment before grabbing one of the stray cloths to try and wipe most of it off. He glanced over at Jack as he stared to pry and inspect the cushions on the two booths that were closer to the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"Not the best but," Jack flipped two of the cushions down, reaching for another to line up, he pointed at Tanner next, "Better than him rolling or jerking before falling off there."

"Is it safe to move him?" Eddie asked, looking back down at the unconscious man he was still supporting with his other arm.

"At this point..." Epps frowned, but then his mouth set in determination, "At this point its more of a slim chance- he lost so much blood." The other dark skinned man carefully moved to lift Tanner's legs, nodding to Eddie to help lift him, "I'd rather him be more comfortable."

"As much as those things came be comfortable," Eddie grunted as he lifted Tanner, shuffling around until they could lay him down, covering the man with their jackets and vests for now.

"Start looking around, see if there's anything we can use here," Epps told the two, pointing to the kitchen, the counter and a general motion, "We're going to start hauling the things outside under cover as soon as I check on Roadbuster again." He moved to the open door, using a foot to kick a few wooden shards aside and glanced over at the dark rumbling lump of Wrecker, then at the few smaller pieces of armor that had already been dragged and pushed in under the cover of the garage.

The mech gave a, "Haaar…" as he shifted, left hand digging into the mess under him, pulling out a tarp and flicking it towards the human. Roadbuster picked at a few tares but got the rest so it flopped rather sadly over his leg.

"Needed a blanket?" Epps asked as he tugged on the old plastic, feeling the near brittleness, surprised it didn't dissolved under his fingers let alone being yanked like that.

Roadbuster snorted, then coughed, "Fer' Jorge..." He coughed again, the mech's glossa flicked into view as the Wrecker's attention shifted inward at that bit still annoying him now that he was settled for now as well.

"Don't die big mech," Epps patted the nearer pede, the grasping claws on it flexing in return as he human pulled and bundled the old tarp.

"Donna intend ta…" Roadbuster said as he shifted, watching as Epps took the tarp to and under the still open garage door. His exposed optics flicked focus to the inside door, he wanted to activate his scanners, but the energon had to be diverted to self repair systems. So he listened, filtering out the sounds of the rain to get the human voices inside, and then locating once more the weak breathing. Keeping track of each slow inhale as he silently encouraged the human to keep breathing.

Roadbuster knew he himself needed rest, resisting dropping into recharge- or stasis as that would be worse. Recharge at least he could be awaked again by the humans, who depended on him to get them back out of this desert.

It was like wastelands before the Sea of Rust, long, flat, rusty colored and in complete lack of anything useful but space. Hopefully this place didn't have the equivalent of Cyber-crocodiles that emerged from the Rust Sea to lay their eggs in the metal shavings before burring themselves nearby to guard their nests.

The mech twitched his claws, turning part of his attention away as Eddie came out of the inner door, only having a few hand guns strapped to his thighs. The hybrid human came over to grasp a part of Roadbuster's leg, the shin. He gave a rough purr in return, and again for Jack to assure them that no, he was not planning on dyeing just yet. He did watch, grumbling with small mechanical growls as they worked to get his armor, now regretting he didn't drop it out in front of the garage. But he hadn't been thinking with his systems flooding, and with a vented sigh, Roadbuster realized he would need help once more with cleaning himself out.

Roadbuster coughed again, denta clicking as he tried again to get that last nugget loose. He returned his attention to listening to Tanner as the other organics worked together to get his armor either in the garage, or against the building to cover with the tarp. Jorge had also set out ever pot, pan and most of the cups to catch the rain water. When they returned, the rain was just starting to taper off a bit, and they found that Roadbuster managed to skim one of his subspace pockets to dump out human related things, including a few large water jugs.

The Wrecker had stolen a lot of things, more than anyone expected, as much for saving for '_just in case'_ moments, as well as just wanting to drive humans crazy by missing supplies that had been there the day before, or even an hour ago. All three Wreckers did this, messing with humans, and Ratchet, but what Epps had caught on after the first few days to a week, was that the mechs were prodding and testing the weird organics to see if they were worth as much as Optimus had said.

Now, this habit and like to drive others crazy was worth it. Water and a case of granola bars, as well as another case of snickers was waiting for the exhausted men as Roadbuster was back to coughing, looking very annoyed himself, but not over the reason of the humans using one of his legs to prop one of the water jugs on. Nor minded them flopping or leaning against his legs, or in Mongo's case on using the pede to lean back on.

It was odd... but also just comforting as well.

After Tanner was checked on, to be sure the man hadn't died and was as comfortable as possible; Epps took stalk again on the situation. He could see one large hand inching closer to him, and from another rasping cough had a feeling of why. "Okay, check list: Roadbuster's tank is as sealed as we can get it, he's still breathing- so to say. So is Tanner for now- and we can't get to a hospital. We're stuck out here, until the big mech can transform again. But klepto habits of Wreckers and the canned stuff in the back, we might make a week and a half out here. The armor's hidden for now and the rain should wipe out tire tracks on the off road areas and we have no connections to this hole."

"And cell phones were destroyed." Jorge added, remembering the day before and so many hundreds if not thousands miles away where his own phone with four others had been crushed and ground under Roadbuster's tires. He had liked that phone...

"What about the energon trackers?" Eddie asked, worriedly looking up to green optics.

Roadbuster snorted, "I made those scanners." He shifted his shoulders and rumbled lowly, just shy of a growl, "All of them- an' I made sure that my Wreckers an' Prime's Bots had the blockers fer' them. Besides, there's a lot of places that those scanners can't reach. This is one." He pointed down at the ground.

"Don't make something against your kind without able to bust it?" Marc asked.

"Frag right." The mech coughed, grimaced, a claw tugged at the back of Epps' shirt, "Squishy- help."

"Yeah, yeah." Epps shrugged to hold off, turning to look up the reclined metal frame.

"What are we going to do about money?" Jorge asked, not quite ready to talk again about what happened to drive them out into near fugitive-ness. He waved a debit card out of his wallet, "These are likely all locked, and credit cards too. Not to mention tracking if it does go."

Epps paused, looking at something in his right hand, that he had scooped up off the ground outside, rubbing it with his thumb before looking back up at Roadbuster. A light dinged on metaphorically speaking, and he started climbing up to help the mech, but also had that 'on a mission' air to him. "We have money- a shit tone of it really..."

Even the mech arched an optic ridge at Epps, confused as he watched the man climb over the unsettled armor. Boosting the man over his chest, and with an interesting face and an exasperated sound opened his mouth.

"_What_ the _hell_ Epps?!" Eddie demanded from the doorway as he half returned, staring in a cross of fascination and horror as their leader- for the lack of anyone else, reaching in to grab Roadbuster's denta.

"Calm down, he's choking." Epps snapped back, he had done this once before for Topspin. He knew all too well how weird it was, for not just him but the mech itself as he had to pull himself into the Wrecker's mouth. Only this time it was slicker from the last time, as Roadbuster _had_ just purge. Bracing a knee on one of a fang, Epps reaching farther in past the curve of the glossa to feel over nothing and then he cursed and with a, "Sorry Buster…"

He felt the mech rumbling in distaste (both in comfort and likely littoral taste as the only remotely organic-like a mech could stand is olive oil) around him as he got a good hold of one back denta to get some more reach. Those alien 'teeth' where scary as hell really. It was a pure illusion that the denta were like human teeth, and it wasn't true at all. The Wreckers had flipping _fangs_ that could cut through neck cables of other mechs, and the normally unseen denta were meant not for chewing soft meat and vegetables- oh no, these mechs were _giant robots_ who had to naw on strips of _metal_ off and on to feed their internal repairs and nanites- not to mention their likes of hard ores and minerals.

Then Epps felt something rough against his fingers and adjusted himself on the glossa to get a hold of the lump, it was still hard so the nanites hadn't started to break it down yet. Pushing and pulling for a full twenty seconds before the fist size lump was freed and Roadbuster vented in relief.

The glossa flexed a moment later, pushing Epps out with a, "Out!" as Cybertronians didn't need to use their mouths to talk, or depend on air. Epps scrambled and managed to keep from being cut on the sharper fangs or the other wicked looking denta, dropping down on Roadbuster's chest. He ducked as the mech lifted an arm up and dragged his glossa over his wrist and forearm. Over exaggerating for the other humans who didn't work as closely with the Wreckers normally (except for Tanner) being kind for once. If Topspin could tolerate Epps pulling shards out of his mouth and glossa for almost an hour, so could Roadbuster.

"That was some weird shit Epps," Eddie said after a long pause, barely repressing the shiver that worked up his spine. That image will be stuck in his head, for a long time, "What the _hell?_"

"Like I said before, 'Buster was choking." Epps grunted, sliding down the mech until caught and lowered the rest of the way to the ground, "And our cash problem is fixed." He held out the hunk of dark yellow that was just a little bigger then fist sized.

"Is that gold?" Jorge ask sitting up again off the side of Roadbuster's leg.

"More than a few thousand dollars worth." Epps nodded, pointing outside where the mech had purged out his tank on the old black top, "Not to mention the nuggets that are out there. What most people don't realize, is that the precious metals," Epps held up the chunk of gold, waving it a bit, "Are only precious to us. To humans. Gold, copper, silver, nickel, platinum, even steel- its all just flavors and the equivalent of 'solid food' for the mechs."

Roadbuster chuckled, he sounded a tiny bit more comfortable, but still looked like hell, and as exhausted as the humans did. "I see what yea're thinking lad..."

"Wait a minute," Mongo said sitting up again on the mech's pede, "If you eat metal, how do you... digest it?"

"Nanites," Roadbuster rasped, giving Mongo a look all present were familiar with from both the Wreckers, and Ratchet (And yes sometimes from Ironnhide too). It was that look that was a mix of '_You-really-can't-be-that-stupid-can-you?_' and '_come-on-you-silly-little-organic-thing-**think**!_' with just a hint of, '_What-**else**-would-it-be?_' reflecting in his optics, "They dissolve metals, and crystals into a none heat-molten liquid state." Roadbuster examined his left forearm and one of the improvised, duck tape bandage wrappings around one of the minor lines. He frowned... where had that stiff come from? And what was it made out of to hold a seal over energon?

"Why do you need… or do that?" Jack asked, wincing as he knew he likely sounded stupid to the mech for asking, and was going to get that same look as Mongo. But really, it had to be asked.

"Easier to absorb, makes more nanites for internal repairs," the formally green mech thumped back into his corner and back wall, the building seemed to give an almost unheard groan at that, "Slow healing... I'm going into recharge mates... need to dedicate energon to repairs."

"Go ahead big mech." Epps patted the protoform frame, watching with the others as those now visible green optics looked at each human, then shifted to stare at the wall to his left. Where Tanner was on the other side. Then with one last cough like sound and motion in the loose chest plates, the green glow faded as Roadbuster stilled completely. The dark skinned man rubbed the metal, not unlike how people did with cars normally. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you're safe Buster. And fix what we can."

Eddie wasn't the only one to nod, or agree softly. After all, of Roadbuster hadn't grabbed them, or slowed down for two of them to jump onto his frame, these men may not have survive the attack- the _human_ attack on both the Autobots and humans. Nest soldiers and the non combat support staff alike. They didn't know who it was, but the way the black clad men had moved... how they knew where the mechs like to be, to work or socialize with their organic counter-parts. There was an unpleasant, but still there suspicion of who it was, and just that suspicions left a bitter taste of betrayal.


End file.
